Apparatus for translating electrical variations.



P. C. HEWITT.

APPARATUS FOR TRANSLATING ELECTRICAL VARIATIONS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-8.1916- ll a go Patented May 8:I9I7.

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PETER COOPER HEWITT, OF RINGWOOD MANOR, NEW JERSEY.

APPATUS FOR TRANSLATING ELECTRICAL VARIATIONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 191%.

, Application filed August 8, 1916. Serial No. 11$,891.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, PETER COOPER Hnwrrr, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Ringwood Manor, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Apparatus for Translating Electrical Vanations, of which the following 1s a specification.

My present invention is for subject matter disclosed in connection with Figure 8 of my prior application Serial No. 28,433, filed May 15th, 1915, which, in turn, was the same as Fig. 23 of my then co-pending application which has since eventuated in Patent No. 1,144,596, granted June 29th, 1915.

The invention is particularly applicable for systems adapted to receive and utilize electrical variations transmitted by wireless methods, as for instance, apparatus of the types employed for wireless telgraphy, telephony and analogous purposes. It concerns means for limiting the .static charge ona receivingconductor and it is particularly adapted for use in combination. with the receiving aerial and wireless receiver system of a wireless telegraph or telephone plant.

It is particularly adapted for use in connection with any of'the systems shown in my said Patent No. 1,144,596, an example of arrangements shown in each and all of the figures of the drawings of said patent, may be utilized in any desired way, all as will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

The detector or receiving device proper, selected for illustration herein, comprises a highly evacuated envelop within which the electrical variations are translated. usually in connection with an external battery used to modify the internalconditions and afford a conducting medium which may be referred to as a gas or vapor medium contained between electrodes in a hermetically sealed vessel, but similar circuit connections may be made serviceable in connection with other mediums having similar reactions. A pure gas is preferable, however, since it tends to insure uniformity of the reactions, and I prefer to use a monatomic gas such as is afforded by mercury or mercury vapor in a hermetically sealed vessel or container. The

container and any solid electrodes therein, are preferably of such material as not to yield gases under the conditions of operation.

The vapor devices disclosed in said patent are so sensitive that the variations to be detected or translated can hardly be applied to the same in such manner as not to produce" some effect on the internal reactions and those reactions will produce more or fess pronounced sensible effects in the indicator whenever the latter is applied to the vapor device in such manner that impulses, direct currents, 'or displacement currents may flow therethrough in response to potential variations. The instrument should be designed or located so as not to be injured by the amperage of such current flow, and, in general, it is preferable to arrange the indicator and variation circuits in such manner that the variations to be detected may pass to the vapor device without being impeded or choked out by the indicator.

In the particular device shown in the drawing, the evacuated container has at the bottom, a small body of mercury 2 in contact with a terminal 12 projecting above the surface thereof. There is also a solid electrode 11, and the circuit of these'elec-f trodes is energized by a battery 8. This I battery may be a storage battery which may be connected for charging to any suitable supply circuit, as D. The energy applied from the battery to the electrodes referred to may be controlled by suitable devices, as for instance, an adjustable inductance 10 and an adjustable resistance 9.- Description of the function of this part of the apparatus is not necessary, it being suf ficient to note that it is for the purpose of modifying the electrical conditions within the container so as to make them suitable for translating the received variations.

At the top of the container are three concentric electrodes, 13", 13", 13, of different areas, preferably arranged in the same plane so that an electrode of desired working area. may be rapidly and conveniently selected or substituted where electrical variations of different characteristics are to be received. The electrode 13 is shown as flattened and arranged in a transverse plane with the flat surface approximately equidistant from the path between the main electrodes, so that almost all of the surface of the electrode exposed to the vapor lies in an approximately equipotential region of suitable current density. This arrangement has certain advantages where it is desired to use a fine adjustment of counter electromotive force of a potentiometer to secure the most sensitive condition for feeble signals. The conditions and purposes of these electrodes are sufiiciently explained in my patent, but so far as concerns my present invention, it is suflicient to say that oneof them is utilized as the sensitive terminal for translating the received electrical variations, The circuit for utilizing the electrical variations is shown as comprising the receiver R serially connected with the potentiometer 18 and conductively connected with electrodes 11 and 13 respectively.

The above described receiving system 18 supplied with energy through the wire S, which, as stated, may be the aerial receiving conductor of a wireless telegraph or telephone system. It is in combination with circuits of which the above is a type that my present invention is primarily adapted for use.

I employ a condenser 82 interposed in the aerial and having a shunt circuit to ground from the part of the aerial above the condenser through a small vapor gap for tapping ofi atmospheric charges from the aerial. I have employed for this purpose a vacuum tube constructed and arranged very much as shown in the drawings. The tube is about 3 inches long provided with disk electrodes 84, 85 and has a calcium compound therein intended to fiuoresce upon passage of suitable current between the electrodes, the specific material in this particu-' lar case being preferably calcined shells. This device may be designed to discharge at a pressure as low as 150 volts, and its action appears .in no way to interfere with the impulses to be received by the receiving apparatus.

With other fluorescent ray emitting materials, other discharge voltages may be obtained, but I find that it is preferable to have the critical discharge point less than 200 volts. I

I claim:

1. In a system for causing electrical variations to produce corresponding amplified electrical eflects, an evacuated container provided with main electrodes for main- 0 taining normal current flow therein, the

main positive electrode extending into the dark space adjacent the main negative electrode, and an auxiliary electrode independent of said main electrodes; a main current supply circuit, a circuit for supplying variations to the device, and a circuit adapted to be energized by amplified currents flowing from said device in response to said variations, in combination with a vacuum discharge gap connected in shunt between said variation supplying circuit and the ground and a condenser between the shunt connection of said discharge gap and said amplifying device, for the purposes described.

2. An aerial conductor for receiving electrical energy, a translating device for utilizing energy received thereby and a condenser in said aerial, in combination with a circuit connection leading to the ground from a point above said condenser and a. gas or vapor vacuum device interposed in said circuit connection.

3. An aerial conductor for receiving electrical energy, a translating device for utilizing energy received thereby and a condenser in said aerial, in combination with a circuit connection leading to the ground from a point above said condenser and a vacuum device having means whereby the voltage required to ass current is lowered, interposed in saidcircuit connection.

4. An aerial conductor for receiving electrical energy, a translating device for utilizing energy received thereby and a condenser in said aerial, in combination with a circuit connection leading to the ground from a point above said condenser and a vacuum device containing ray emitting material, interposed in said circuit connection.

5. An aerial conductor for receiving electrical energy, a translating device for utilizing energy received thereby and a condenser in said aerial, in combination with a circuit connection leading to the ground from a point above said condenser and a vacuum device containing ray emitting material whereby the voltage required to pass current is lowered, interposed in said circuit connection.

6. An aerial conductor for receiving electrical energy, a translating device for utilizing energy received thereby and a condenser in said aerial, in combination with a circuit connection leading to the ground from a point above said condenser and an exhausted vessel capable of passing current at less than 200 volts, interposed in said circuit connection.

7. An aerial conductor for receiving electrical energy, a translating device for utilizing energy received thereby and a condenser in said aerial, in conbination with a circuit connection leading to the ground from a point above said condenser, and,

interposed in said circuit, an electrical valve having electrical characteristics adapted to pass current at a predetermined voltage Without interfering with the energy variations received in said first mentioned translating device.

8. An aerial conductor for receiving electrical energy, a translating device for utilizing energy received thereby and a condenser in said aerial, in combination with a circuit connection leading to the ground from a point above said condenser, and, interposed in said circuit, a vacuum device including an alkaline compound.

9. A conductor for electrical variations and a translating device for utilizing said variations, in combination With a circuit connection leading from said conductor to the ground from a point in advance of the translating device and an exhausted vessel capable of passing current at less than 200 volts, interposed insaid circuit connection.

10. A conductor for electrical variations and a translating device for utilizing said variations, in combination with a circuit connection leading from said conductor to the ground from a point inadvance of the translating device, an exhausted vessel interposed in said circuit connection, and means within said vessel for reducing the voltage at which the discharge Will take place therethrough.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 27th day of July, A. D. 1916.

PETER COOPER HEWITT.

Witnesses:

WALTER A. F. BRADLEY, JoHN'F. NELSON. 

